The Choices We Make
by repeatedsignals
Summary: Theresa couldn't blame everyone for not believing that she had truly given up. They were right, she didn't give up on Ethan. Instead, she simply realized that she didn't want him anymore. Lives are about to change...
1. Chapter 1

Breathing heavily, Theresa simply couldn't believe what was happening. She had worked so hard, had sacrificed so much and yet here she was. Nothing had changed.

"Theresa! I can't believe that you would do this…" Ethan's icy voice continued with its continuous lines of accusations as Gwen and Rebecca looked on uneasily.

Theresa had tried to explain to him what had truly occurred, but he simply refused to let her speak. Whenever she opened her mouth, he would cut her off and coldly tell her to save her excuses.

"Well, what are you going to say now?"

As she looked at him, she couldn't for the life of her remember why she had fought so hard. She looked down and the clutched diskette in her hand. Swallowing the frustrated cry that begged to escape, she looked Ethan in the eye.

"Do you know what this is, Ethan?" Her voice was heartbreakingly soft.

He let out an exasperated sigh and motioned for her to continue.

She knew that he was waiting for another one of her so called excuses. He was just waiting for her to speak so that he could brand her as irrational, illogical, or immoral.

Blinking back the tears that threatened to fall, she took another shaky breath. Sparing a glance at the other two occupants in the room, she noticed how they were holding their breath in fear of being exposed for what they had done…for what they had set up Theresa to take the fall for.

But, she had made her decision. As the day after day had passed by, she noticed that she had always been on defensive: defending her words, defending her actions, defending her choices. 'It's not how it's supposed to be…' She felt shattered beyond repair.

"It's the one thing that would guarantee our future, Ethan." Clutching the flimsy plastic in her hand, she began to shiver from the pain. "It's the one thing that would bring us together forever."

She had caught his attention. She knew it. But as he stepped towards her in curiosity, she held out a hand for him to stop.

"But Gwen was right, Ethan," a choked sob released against her efforts to keep it back, "you never loved me." She dared him to refute her statement, dared him to declare his love for her in front of Gwen. But he didn't…and it only gave her the little encouragement that she needed to go on.

"Because if you loved me," her voice quivered, but she refused to meet anyone's eyes, "if you truly, loved me…you wouldn't need proof to believe me."

With the quick flick of her wrist, she sent the disk into the fireplace and painfully watched it melt away quickly.

Shocked, Ethan rapidly moved towards the flames, but didn't know quite what to do. He simply looked back and forth between the bright, burning flames and a stoned face Theresa.

Gwen and Rebecca, who were frozen in astonishment, couldn't find the strength to utter a single word. They simply could not believe their eyes.

Moving toward Theresa, Ethan halted in mid-step as she took a step back…away from him.

They stared at each other in silence.

"Goodbye Ethan."

And with a spin on her heel, she walked out the door without another word.

Hm…I wonder if anyone reads these. :) I used to watch Passions back in the old days and just got a chance to read some updates and I got sooooo maddddddd. This is how it should be, grr. Anyways, please comment and review so that I know that this section of FFnet isn't dead. Then I'll update more, promise!


	2. Chapter 2

Theresa found herself in the deserted, darkened park. Hugging herself against the wind, she shivered from the cold and from the numbness in her chest. It was an aching feeling, not of overwhelming pain but rather a throbbing emptiness that settled in her gut; it was unlik anything she had ever felt before. She was sure that it could not be alleviated in any way...and the odd thing was that she did not want it to end. This hollow feeling was somehow soothing to her, much preferable over the agony she had previously experienced; the one that left her begging for others to help her with. This pain was different. It was a pain that she welcomed.

It was eerily silent. Under normal circumstances Theresa was sure that she would have been frightened and immediately called on someone to rescue her. But she was tired of having to be rescued. Admittedly, she thrived on the attention. She felt safe and secure when others showed concern. But the truth was that for the past months, she had desperately needed someone to be there for her...and it had nothing to do with wanting attention. It had to do with sustaining her sanity in this world. So much had happened. Everything was being torn away from her...and when Jane was taken away it was the last blow to the heart...a final cut that had been made from a man who she had pined over for years and years. It was the same man who had hurt her, only to bring her back up to simply beat her down again. It was a continuous cycle. And it was going to stop.

"Theresa!"

Whirling around at the call of her name, Theresa cast her widened eyes onto the large figure that ran towards her.

"Fox?" Confused, she slowly advanced towards him. 'How did he know...'

The blonde, handsome man towered over and clutched her forearms in a tight grip. "What are you doing out here by yourself," he reprimanded her heavily, "It's dark as hell and anyone could attack you out of nowhere."

Witnessing the unhidden concern that brightly shown in Fox's eyes, Theresa's mind flashed to the time when they had been together. It was undoubtedly one of the happier lives she had lived...but she had lost it. She had screwed up and she was where she deserved to be.

Alone.

Closing her eyes tightly, Theresa placed both hands aside each of Fox's cheek. She earnestly looked him in the eyes, "I'm so sorry, Fox..." A sob escaped her lips for the first time that night. SeeingFox did that. So much regret flowed through her in continuous waves, and she was drowning.

"Theresa..." Fox didn't know what was wrong...this time. They had not seen each other as much as they had used to and he found himself from the outside of her life, merely looking in. It didn't use to be like that. He had resented being incrementally shoveled out of Theresa's life, but all her little secrets had swallowed her whole, inevitably closing them off from each other.

"Theresa, what happened?" He held her close to him and ignored the bittersweet feeling that swelled up inside of him. When she said nothing, he rubbed her back soothingly. "I know that we've been kind of strangers lately…but I'm here. I'll always be here, you know."

Theresa choked back a bubbling cry. She really wanted to believe what Fox said, but it was so hard to. They had been best friends, they had been lovers, and both relationships had died away because of her needy, manipulative ways. She had ruined everything and she did not want to fool herself into thinking that Fox truly, irrevocably meant what he said. It was her foremost wish to believe that she really had not screwed up something so precious to her. But she was well aware of her track record; her notoriety lied in continuously losing everything she held precious through her own faults.

God, how did she turn into this?

Haunting tears escaped from her eyes and seeped into Fox's Polo shirt. Startled, Fox pulled her away slightly and cupped her chin. He hated to see her cry. It tore at him from the inside out and he detested feeling so useless to her.

"Hey, hey…." Pulling her close again, he sighed and closed his eyes. "You can tell me, Theresa. You know that you can tell me anything. Come on…what happened?"

Composing herself, Theresa backed out of Fox's arms. She wanted to tell him everything. She truly did. But would he believe her? How many times did she resolve to give up Ethan, only to revert back to her wishful fantasies? No, she couldn't blame anyone for not believing her. But if anyone would even try, it would be Fox.

"Can we…can we go somewhere?" Tucking a strand hair behind her ear, she stared at the moist grass beneath her.

Reaching out, Fox grabbed her hand into his larger one and walked away from the darkness.

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They were at the Blue Note. Theresa absently swirled her drink around with her straw, while Fox patiently sat, waiting for her to speak up first. But, he wasn't a very patient man. He never purported to be.

"Theresa?" He grabbed her drink and firmly eyed her as he placed it on the table.

Soothing, uplifting music penetrated through the room. It magnificently set light to the edgy ambience of the club. But all of this fell onto Fox's death ears. His focus was on Theresa; a woman who succeeded in doing what a lot of people failed at, and that was making Fox 'feel.' Never in his life had he ever felt such a wide array of feelings for a person, let alone a woman: distaste when he  
had uncovered that she was his stepmother, interest when he had jumped into her bed by accident, friendship when he had finally got to know her...the list went on, but it brought him to where they were today. Theresa was a woman who he held very dear to his heart. And he didn't know how to erase the lines of distress that marred her beautiful face.

And it hurt him.

Ever since Theresa had ended their love affair, reasons had ate away at him. But he boiled it down to the fact that there was something that was going on and Theresa hadn't felt as if he could help nor understand her. That was what had hurt. He had apparently not given her enough evidence to believe that he could be there for her.

"You won't believe me, Fox..." The brunette stammered, unsurely. She absently tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear, and then folded both hands calmly onto her lap. "But...but, I've realized that Ethan isn't the man for me."

Looking up, Theresa saw the acceptance in Fox's eyes. But, she knew that he didn't place much faith in her ability to stand by her resolve. And she didn't blame him. She simple couldn't.

"I did something today, Fox." Impulsively, she reached out and grasped his hands into hers, not taking notice when his thumbs began to caress her palms. "I had a chance with Ethan...a real chance. But...but I gave up."

Surprised at what he was hearing, Fox brought their hands to rest thoughtfully under his chin. He eyed her speculatively, "What happened?"

"It doesn't matter..." Squeezing his hands warmly, she continued softly. "I just hoped to make you a bit proud--"

"Theresa." A cool voice interjected and cuttingly ruined the intimacy of the moment.

Ethan hovered authoritatively other the pair, unconsciously angered over the cozy picture the pair made. The overhead lights illuminated his golden hair and he was still in the pristine suit he had been in when Theresa walked out.

Fox flitted a look at Theresa when he felt her hands tense under his hold. She had changed. Theresa had never showed any signs of distress in his half-brother's presence before...this was something new.

"Theresa. I'd like a word." Casting a glance at Fox, Ethan's hardened features didn't so much as flicker.

Not appreciating the interruption, Fox expected Theresa to ask him to leave the two alone for a bit, but surprisingly she didn't. Nor did she speak. She didn't do anything but stiffly stare at their clasped hands. Worriedly, he bit down on his tongue. He'd see to her later.

"Ethan," he smirked, "Theresa and I were enjoying each other's pleasant company.

Unfazed, Ethan gave him a swift, cutting glance. He took notice of Theresa's inattention. "It'll only take a minute. Why don't you leave us alone for a bit."

Theresa pursed her lips and threw him an offended look, "Actually--"

"We were just leaving." Fox stood up and drew her to her feet has well. "Maybe you can catch up with her when she has the time." Gripping her hand tightly, he pushed passed Ethan and bounded for the entrance way.

"Theresa," Ethan blocked her path, causing her to break physical contact with Fox. "We have to talk," his eyes narrowed, "You have some explaining to do."

Having had the time to build up her much needed resolve, Theresa straightened her posture and sent Ethan a stern, cool stare. "I think that we ended our last discussion just fine, Ethan." She stepped lightly to the right in order to pass by him, only to be stopped by his firm grip on her forearm.

"Hey," Fox scowled angrily and forcefully yanked Theresa behind him. "Watch where you put your hands."

Ethan's eyes narrowed, "This is between Theresa and I, Fox."

"Oh yeah?" Fox took a telling step forward, bringing both of the handsome men only inches apart.

"Stop it!" Theresa looked around and noticed that they were garnering attention with their raised voices. People were beginning to stare and murmur. Pushing her way in between the half brothers and the dark aura that they created, she faced Ethan.

"Ethan, like I said before, we have nothing to discuss." But his features showed no sign that he had heard her, not a flicker interrupted his stoic face. He refused to break his cold stare away from Fox's challenging ones.

She felt Fox bristle behind her and so she whirled and placed her shaky hands onto his elbows. "Fox." He responded by trying to steer her aside, but she resisted and tugged harshly on the fabric of his shirt. "Fox!"

His eyes flickered downward, his mouth grim and eyes biting. He wanted to wipe the cold arrogance away from Ethan's face badly.

"Let's get out of here…."

"What's going on here!"

Theresa whirled around just in time to watch Gwen latch herself onto Ethan's arm. It was difficult not to become angry at Gwen's indignant sneer, but all Theresa wanted to do was to be left alone in solitude. Tonight was not being gracious to her and she wanted to bury herself under the covers of her bed.

Fox felt Theresa lean back against him a bit. If it had been any other day, he would have bet top dollar that she was trying to make Ethan jealous. And, hell, he would have been all for it. But it was different this time. This whole damn situation was different. The woman in his arms looked weary and certainly not in battle mode.

This worried him. It worried him a lot.

"Well, now that your _wife_ is here," Fox announced scathingly, "You should have all the company you need."

Leading Theresa away quickly, Fox made his way through the crowd as rising voices were emitted from the pair he left behind.

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Okay. I know, I know. You guys were so gracious with your comments and reviews and I totally should have gotten this chapter out sooner. I was a bit behind with my other fics, but I think that I may leave those behind all together to concentrate on this one.

To tell you the truth, since I don't watch Passions anymore, I don't know what the hell is going on. But here's where I'd like to go with this. Let's just assume that Fox knows why and what Theresa did what she did….I mean the whole sleeping and drugging Ethan thing. I don't really know if he does, but let's just say that he does. Furthermore, and pleaseeeee, don't kill me. I'm erasing Little Ethan from the story. I don't plan on using him in the story period and I don't want to have to needlessly let Theresa play mommy to him for a few lines so that she won't seem like a negligent mother. I also wanted to leave Jane out of it too, but I decided not to. She stays…as her and Ethan's daughter. Erm….needless to say, the story may not fit the storyline at times and for that I apologize. Furthermore, I'm an all out Fox and Theresa supporter.  I think that they're so cute together.

Anyways, please do comment and I will do my best to get the next chapter out asap!


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